House of the week: 1 Jonathan Island, Narragansett, $1.25 million

Christine Dunn Journal Staff Writer ChristineMDunn

Friday

May 31, 2013 at 12:01 AM

NARRAGANSETT — Having your own private island is a fantasy that few people can afford.But on Jonathan Island, a hideaway in the center of Point Judith Pond, the dream has been a reality for Bill Huggins...

NARRAGANSETT — Having your own private island is a fantasy that few people can afford.

But on Jonathan Island, a hideaway in the center of Point Judith Pond, the dream has been a reality for Bill Huggins and his family for the past 15 years. He owns the entire island — all 2.79 acres of it.

Huggins and his wife each keep their own small motorboats at the Billington Cove Marina in Wakefield, and the island’s private dock is about a 10-minute ride away.

Huggins, who works as a mortgage broker, is a Block Island native and Wakefield resident. His island house was built by the previous owner, the late Vassi Adamides, a New Bedford native who had to contend with years of permit issues in the 1980s before construction was allowed.

The two-story, two-bedroom, 1,800-square-foot contemporary cottage was built at the highest point on Jonathan Island, which is above the flood plain, so the house did not have to be built on pilings.

It was built upside-down style, with two bedrooms and the bathroom on the first floor, along with a screened porch, and the kitchen, dining and living areas on the second floor. The upper level has an open design and there are multiple windows that provide panoramic views of the water. There is also a deck on the second floor, overlooking the pond.

There are photovoltaic solar panels, placed between the house and the vegetable garden, and there is a backup generator for power. Huggins said he uses propane gas for cooking and hot water. He said he made an effort to buy the most energy efficient appliances and light fixtures that he could find.

Huggins said he and his wife, Alison, have enjoyed tending to their tidy vegetable and flower gardens on the island. There is an apple tree, along with blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. The Hugginses like to make jams from all these berries, though Huggins said they have to be quick to harvest them before various forms of wildlife get there first. The vegetable garden includes onions, lettuce, sugar snap peas, rhubarb, broccoli, horseradish, rosemary and sage. The island is also home to fragrant plants, including roses, lavender and honeysuckle.

Huggins, who worked as a fisherman for several years before he completed his college education, also takes advantage of the location by harvesting the bounty of the sea, including steamer clams, little necks, blue crabs, lobsters and oysters.

The day we visited the island, Huggins was checking his lobster trap as he prepared to host a television crew from the cable channel HGTV, which was planning to include the house in an upcoming show about “amazing” waterfront properties. A painter was working on a landscape of the flower garden, which Huggins intended to give to his wife for Mother’s Day.

He remembered that he once filled a trunk with costume jewelry he bought at a flea market and buried it on the island beach. Later, he told his young grandchildren a tale about a pirate who used to travel the waters of Point Judith Pond and who might have buried some of his loot on Jonathan Island. He then led the children on a search for the buried “treasure.”

Huggins has also used the island as a rental during his tenure, charging more than $300 per night or $3,000 per week to vacationers who want to truly get away from it all.

“It’s like a summer camp,” he said.

The property at 1 Jonathan Island is listed with an asking price of $1,250,000. Real estate taxes are $6,350. For more information, contact Lori Joyal of Lila Delman Real Estate, (401) 742-1225.

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